Volleyball Cats Establishing New Norm for Program
Heading into Sunday’s match against No. 1 Florida, the Kentucky volleyball program had never beaten the nation’s top-ranked team. Kentucky was 0-6 in program history against teams ranked at the top of the national rankings.
On Sunday, the 2017 Wildcats showed once again why this team is truly special. Kentucky went to Gainesville and beat top-ranked and undefeated Florida 25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-16, notching one of the biggest wins in program history.
Sophomore Leah Edmond led Kentucky with 18 kills in the match. And Edmond knew that the Wildcats were the better team on Sunday.
“We went in there and played our game and we were the best team,” Edmond said. “We just played our game and stuck to the game plan that the coaches gave us.”
Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner thought his veterans led the way in Sunday’s win.
“I give a lot of credit to our seniors for leading the charge with their confidence,” said UK head coach Craig Skinner. “Darian Mack was big-time Mack today. This team continues to impress us as a staff with how much they want something else, something beyond what they’ve done before. Great team effort.”
Mack, a senior from Raleigh, North Carolina, came through with 13 kills and just two errors on 29 swings (.379 hitting percentage).
“I don’t think there are words to explain how exciting and happy this moment was,” Mack said. “You don’t get this opportunity often. We pounced on it and had fun with it.”
Mack’s classmate, Kaz Brown, was also outstanding in the match. Brown, a senior from Waterloo, Iowa, had 11 kills and just two errors in 19 attacks. She added a solo block and three block assists in the match.
“It’s kind of indescribable right now, it’s a little bit surreal,” Brown said of the win over the Gators. “I think everybody stepped up in their own way. We really executed. I think realizing that any team can be beaten on any given day, we came in knowing that we are a team that can give them trouble.”
Kentucky’s other two senior regulars were also solid in the match. Emily Franklin had eight kills and no errors on 14 swings (.571) while adding a block assist and four digs. Senior libero Ashley Dusek, the two-time defending SEC Libero of the Year, had 16 digs and an assist in the win.
Freshman Avery Skinner added 10 kills for Kentucky in the match.
Kentucky (16-2, 7-0 SEC) figures to reap the benefits of Sunday’s huge win on Monday, when the national rankings and the updated RPI are released. Kentucky has never been ranked higher than seventh during Skinner’s tenure at UK, but Monday’s ranking figures to be higher than that. Kentucky entered Sunday’s match with an RPI of three, but a road win over Florida, who was second in the RPI, figures to give the Wildcats a boost in that category as well.
Skinner knows that Sunday’s win was huge for not only this year’s team, but for the Kentucky program.
“It’s important, we are a program, we’re not just a team,” Skinner said. “We’re establishing new norms each and every year and this is another one where we can put another notch in our belt.”
The 2017 Wildcats are establishing themselves as one of the best teams in UK history. Sunday’s win was another step in that process.
